CVE-2012-4330 in Samsung
Summary
by MITRE
The Samsung D6000 TV and possibly other products allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a long string in certain fields, as demonstrated by the MAC address field, possibly a buffer overflow.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/29/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-4330 represents a critical security flaw affecting Samsung D6000 television models and potentially other Samsung devices within their product line. This issue stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the device's network communication protocols, specifically targeting the handling of MAC address fields and similar network parameters. The vulnerability manifests when remote attackers exploit improperly bounded string inputs that exceed expected parameter lengths, leading to system instability and complete service disruption. The flaw demonstrates characteristics consistent with buffer overflow conditions where maliciously crafted input data exceeds allocated memory boundaries, causing system crashes and denial of service scenarios.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the device's failure to properly validate and sanitize network input parameters before processing them within memory buffers. When a remote attacker submits an excessively long string in fields such as MAC addresses, the device's networking stack fails to handle the overflow gracefully, resulting in memory corruption that ultimately leads to system crashes. This behavior aligns with CWE-121, which describes heap-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-122, which addresses stack-based buffer overflow scenarios. The vulnerability specifically impacts the device's network communication capabilities and can be exploited without requiring authentication, making it particularly dangerous in networked environments where unauthorized access is possible.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to encompass broader security implications for networked consumer electronics. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause complete system crashes requiring manual reboot operations, potentially disrupting user experience and creating service availability issues. In enterprise or commercial settings where multiple Samsung devices operate within the same network infrastructure, a single compromised device could potentially serve as an entry point for more extensive network attacks. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers do not need physical access to the device, allowing for widespread disruption from external network locations. This characteristic places the vulnerability within ATT&CK framework category T1499, which covers network denial of service attacks, and T1071, which addresses application layer protocol usage for command and control communications.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should encompass multiple defensive layers including network segmentation to isolate affected devices, implementation of network access controls to restrict unauthorized access, and firmware updates from Samsung to address the underlying buffer overflow conditions. Organizations should also implement monitoring solutions to detect anomalous network traffic patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. The most effective long-term solution involves applying official firmware patches provided by Samsung that address the specific input validation flaws in the device's network handling code. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malicious input patterns targeting known buffer overflow vulnerabilities in networked devices. Regular security assessments of embedded systems within the network infrastructure can help identify similar vulnerabilities across other networked appliances that may be susceptible to comparable exploitation techniques.